AI-focused developers help fuel New York City life, city agency chief says

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NEW YORK (Reuters) -New York City companies focused on artificial intelligence, which rely on human interaction to grow, are boosting office leasing and inspiring the return of workers to the city, said Andrew Kimball, president and CEO of New York City Economic Development Corporation.

The industry-wide trend started in the San Francisco Bay Area, where major AI developers are based, following the launch of ChatGPT three years ago.

“The percentage of companies that are calling themselves AI companies, no matter what the sector they’re in, is just going up, up, up,” Kimball said at the Reuters Momentum AI Finance conference in New York on Tuesday.

New York is aiming to attract top talent and businesses in the AI wave, which will boost office leasing and street activity, he added.

“What I hear over and over again, what I’ve seen with my own eyes … is, in companies that are AI-focused, they’re not talking about being back three or four days a week to the office,” said Kimball. “They are in seven days a week. Because that human interaction is so critical to the success of their output.”

Kimball addressed the fear that some workers will lose their jobs as AI replaces them in repetitive or data-intensive tasks.

“There’s going to certainly be shaking out, there’s going to be some jobs lost, there’s going to be some jobs that are augmented,” said Kimball. “But I think everything I have read and seen, … is that New York is a net winner (from AI).”

Kimball, who was appointed in February 2022 by New York City Mayor Eric Adams, said he would “love to keep serving the city.” But Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has yet to announce who will head the EDC.

Mamdani’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

(Reporting by Megan Davies; editing by Ken Li and Richard Chang)